The 10 Companies With The Best CSR Reputations In 2017

A survey of people in 15 countries sheds light on which companies are seen as the most socially responsible in 2017. (Photo credit IDA GULDBAEK ARENTSEN/AFP/Getty Images)

A recent analysis of 170,000 company ratings from respondents in 15 countries sheds light on which are perceived by consumers as the most socially responsible.

The annual study, released yesterday, is compiled by the Reputation Institute (RI), a Boston-based reputation-management consulting firm. It tracks social responsibility reputations by zeroing in on consumers’ perceptions of company governance, positive influence on society and treatment of employees, scoring each with its proprietary RepTrak Pulse system.

Its Build the Change and Sustainable Materials Center initiatives - and its partnership with the World Wildlife Fund - are part of the Danish toy company's push for sustainability.

Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella opens the US technology titan's annual Build Conference in Seattle on May 10, 2017 with a focus on a future rich with artificial intelligence that follows people from device to device.(Photo credit: GLENN CHAPMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

2. Microsoft

The Seattle-based technology firm retains its second place position from last year while earning a RepTrak CSR score of 74.1.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is a proponent of social and environmental responsibility. Hahn-Griffiths says, "Microsoft is committed to enhancing education as a highly relevant global human issue – and unlike Apple operates as an open source platform that fosters perceptions of good citizenship and good governance."

The company's co-founder and former CEO Bill Gates (still a major shareholder) has a stellar reputation for social responsibility due to his work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The search giant falls from its #1 perch in 2016 and this year takes third place with a CSR score of 73.9.

The Reputation Institute says that Google CEO Sundar Pichai has been willing to publicly speak out on issues he believes in, such as countering comments about Muslims made by President Donald Trump.

Google's slight drop on the list can also be attributed to an overall raising of the bar in the way the public views CSR. "How people evaluate companies in general has become a lot more critical because they're more familiar, they're more educated," says Hahn-Griffiths.

Disney CEO Robert Iger visits FOX Business Network's 'Markets Now' at FOX Studios on September 24, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

4. Walt Disney Company

RepTrak Score: 73.5 points

Score Change 2016: -1.2 points (third place)

Visitor look to a BMW X3 car at the 2017 Frankfurt Auto Show on September 12, 2017 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Photo by Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images)

5. BMW Group

RepTrak Score: 71.5 points

Score Change 2016: -2.4 points (fourth Place)

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich speaks during an Intel press event for CES 2017 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on January 4, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

6. Intel

RepTrak Score: 71.1 points

Score Change 2016: -1.7 points (tenth Place)

Volkmar Denner, CEO of German car supplier Robert Bosch GmbH, poses prior to the annual press conference at the Bosch headquarters in Gerlingen near Stuttgart, Germany, on April 18, 2013. (Photo credit: THOMAS KIENZLE/AFP/Getty Images)

7. Robert Bosch

RepTrak CSR Score: 71 points

Score Change 2016: +1.4 points (twenty-first Place)

Cisco Systems headquarters on August 17, 2016 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

8. Cisco Systems

RepTrak CSR Score: 71 points

Score Change 2016: +1.8 points (twenty-fourth Place)

Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines on view on the assembly line at the Rolls Royce factory in Derby, central England on November 30, 2016. (Photo credit: PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

Apple is among the firms that saw a marked reduction in its CSR score this year. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Dropping On The List...

Apple, Samsung and Volkswagen are three firms that have seen their CSR reputations recede this year. Since 2016's survey, Apple and Samsung sank 5.3 points each and settled in 49th and 89th places respectively. VW dropped 8.2 points this year, falling to 100th place.

Apple, which last year held seventh place in RI's CSR ranking, is likely the victim of its own secrecy. The company was unwilling to unlock its iPhone to assist law enforcement during a shooting investigation last year. Plus, the firm maintains a closed platform, and many are dubious about its workplace.

Samsung's reputation was hit by combustion problems with its Galaxy S7 Note phone. And vice chairman Jay Y. Lee has been ensnared in a bribery scandal.

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